Need a snack during a meeting? The voice-activated popcorn cannon that make the boardroom a lot more fun

There really is no other way to eat popcorn other than attempting to catch it in your mouth.

Now one popcorn manufacturer is trying to revolutionise the process, with a machine that takes all of the hard work out of aiming and throwing your popcorn into the air.

The desk-based 'Popinator', by U.S. brand Popcorn Indiana, waits for the command word 'Pop!', and then aims itself at you, analyses all the angles, and shoots a piece of popcorn directly into your waiting mouth.

As the Popinator's promotional video shows us, the machine could rapidly speed up conference meetings by reducing time lost through snacking - just yell out one syllable and wait for the crispy kernel to pop its way into your belly.

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Pop! Say the magic word, and the Popinator raises its cannon and shoots a piece of popcorn at your mouth

Take a snack without breaking stride: Liven up those tedious conferences with a little bit of kernel magic

Let's take 5 seconds... The Popinator allows you to grab a snack without much effort

Yes, this is a viral campaign, and
no, it is unlikely this product will come to market, but it is a fun new
attempt at revolutionising how we eat.

The company, Popcorn Indiana, wanted to add some fun to the admittedly tedious chore of popping popcorn in your mouth.

So they gave birth to the Popinator, which automatically launches an individual piece of popcorn straight into your mouth.

Once you pop... Another worker grabs a piece of popcorn out of the air

Made it: The piece lands safely, to the slight bemusement of colleagues

In all its glory: The Popinator has freshly-made popcorn just waiting to be caught

The machine uses twin 'ears', or microphones, to determine where to fire.

As soon as anyone says 'Pop!', the machine perks its head, and listens to the two sets of soundwaves its ears picked up to determine where the voice came from.

After a split-second piece of calculus, the machine aims and fires - similar to those old artillery games you may have played in the 1980s - and, assuming your mouth is open, a fresh piece of popcorn is delivered direct to your hungry mouth.

Who wants some? Just say 'Pop!' and then open wide

Photocopying popcorn: Whenever you are within shot of the pops, you may grab a kernal

Popinator can be fooled though - record your voice on an iPhone and the machine will track your phone instead

Popcorn Indiana's vice president, Barry Schurr, said: 'One thing that
never changes about popcorn is how people eat it, how they get it in
their mouths, whether it's directly from a bag or from a bowl - that
hasn't changed.

'But how cool would it be if you could change the way people eat popcorn.'

You may need to adjust your head a little bit, because each piece of popcorn has its own unique shape, so air resistance may alter its path mid-flight.

But that's part of the fun of popcorn-catching. For without the challenge, where is the fun?